Having this animal in your street name can increase the value of your home by over £1 million

What's in a name? It turns out that just living on a street with a cool animal name can add substantial value to your home. We're not just talking negligible increases that are nice to have but won't make a difference to your sale price. These are huge discrepancies between equivalent house prices just thanks to an animal in the street name.

Although much of the price your house will sell for is down to the type and condition of your property – and taking advantage of sound property advice when selling – sometimes chance plays a part. According to recent research by SaveOnEnergy, how much value an animal-related street name will add depends largely on where you live. Here are the areas where sellers will reap the largest benefits – and the animals that will bring the highest rewards.

Brighton is the area where animal street names add the most value

Brighton and Hove emerged as the sweet spot for the value-adding properties of animal street names. If you live in this southern English city and your street contains 'lion', you can expect to sell your house for a dizzying £1,233,260 more than surrounding areas with ordinary street names. Of course, there is also a lot to be said for the unique character of the properties that can be found on Black Lion Street and Black Lion Lane in Brighton. Black Lion Street is the Regency district of Brighton, boasting grand homes close to the beach and pier. Black Lion Lane has the oldest homes in Brighton, with several cottages dating back to the seventeenth century. It is unlikely that the lion street names would have had the same effects without these facts.

Bears and horses add the most value

Outside of Brighton, street names with 'bear' or 'horse' in them add the most value in many locations in England. Having 'bear' in your street name can add over £240,000 to the value of your house, while a 'horse' in the name can bump up your house value by nearly £234,000. Live on Pack Horse Lane in Bath? Your house could fetch an additional £317,390 when selling. In Tyne and Wear and live somewhere like White Horse View? Your house could sell for a whopping £748,851 more. Again, the exact increase would depend on the type of house you're selling, and there usually is a correlation between animal names and expensive period homes that tend to sell for more to begin with.

The animal names that can lose your home value

Oddly, some animal names are not so lucky. If you live on a street with 'eagle' in it, you could lose £42,000 when selling, and ducks and falcons seem to have a similarly unlucky effect, reducing home values by between £20,000-£30,000. Location does play a part here: for some mysterious reason, if you live in Bournemouth, County Durham, or Herefordshire, animal names won't do anything for your house value, decreasing it by up to £70,000.

Whatever animal is in your street name, take all of this data with a pinch of salt: if your house is beautiful and in good condition, you will still sell it at a good price, eagle or no eagle.